Scraper-loader apparatus



' 1 646536 OC. 25 1927. J s HCUSMAN 7 9 scRAPER LOADER APPARATUS original Filed April 24. 1924 v2o .1, ings, my improvedv scraper'y isA made up. of

Patented oci. 25, 1927.

;roHN s. IIoUsMAN, kor CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AssIGN'oRY'rvo `scopi/:Ari NANFACTNB ING COMPANY, or CHICAGO, ILLINoIsn CORPORATION oFILLINoIs.

i sonArEn'-LOADERv APPARATUS.

Application filedv April 24,

This invention relates ,tov improvements in scraper loader apparatus, and more particularly to. a reciprocably operated scraper adapted for use vin restricted passageways,

5 as forinstance, in lgathering coal in the longwall systemofmining.

The principal object of the invention isto provide ,an improved construction, 'for a scraper of the class above described. l

The invention may bevbest understood by` referenceto theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is aplan structed in accordance withamy' invention; Figure is a side view of the scraper with parts broken away;

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view, the application ofthe scraper to atypical longwall rminingoperation.

f Referring now to the d tails ofthe drawvtwo wall portions, one portion 'lObeing relatively longer than kthe other portion 11.

These two portions are movable relative toV each other, fory this purpose being hinged at the meeting endsby suitable means such as a pin 12. Outward spreading movement of the walls is limited by suitable means, such as a chain 13, The, scraper thus formed is preferably bottomless although the lower margins a and 11 of the respective side walls 10 and 11 maybe turned inwardly to provide cutting edges to assist in gathering loose material.

the scraper comprise a head. rope '14 and a tail rope 15. The head rope is connected'to the forward end of the longer wall portion 10, this end being curved inwardly as indicated at 16, and as herein shown, the point of connection of the head rope 11i is offset with relation to the sidewalll 10 approximately the same distance as 'the point ofA pivotal connectionwith the other side wall 11 at`the rear end of the scraper." in the preferred formV shown, the curved connecting portion 16 is made up of a pair of members y17 and 18 which diverge from each otherfin a vertical plane, the upper member 17 extending along the entire length of the s ide wall 10 to provide a reinforcing strip there-- for.

The tail rope l is attached to the shorter view of ,a lscraper con-V showing .indicatedV by boundary 23. beyond the line `of props 22, l

' it will' be seen rlhe draft ropes for reciprocably oper-ating s and the lower member'lSbeing connected i with the front margin'ofjthe side ywall 10.7

wallportion 11 adjacent the point of pivotal 1924, serial No. 708,607. Renew-vea June' ze, i927.

connection ofthe two wall portionsas shown .y 1n F1gure;1,the arrangement being such that the scraper will have a. tendency to 4be main-V i tained in open position while beingrdrawn rearwardlyby `meansofthe tail rope,f'a though this point of pivotal connection-is near enough to. theV hinge to permit the shorter portion 11 tofbe readily .collapsed-in jcaseflylfy obstructions ,are encountered yduring suchV rearward movement. `The. use yand operation follows: .i y i Referring to the diagram iny Figure 3, the l scraper is shown as applied to the longwall I system ofmining, in which a working face 76 2O is being advanced by vsuccessively breaking l down Vportions of the coal into piles of loose| v material adjacent the face, as indicatedfat" 21. The'drawingillustrates a common condition encountered in longwall naming, namely, one in which itis necessaryto pro-` videa series of mine props 22,.22,`quite` close to theworking face `in orderto support the roof while the coal is being mined. The area if the device is s 22, represents the portion which has beenexhausted and abandoned and usually has been substantially closed byv dropping of the ,ro of. A l j 1 Referring'more particularly to the use of my improved ,scraper under these conditions, that' I provide a .plurality of guide'sheaves 25, 25suitablyarranged at 0pposite ends of the working faceto control the recip-rocal movement of thev scraper along the face whereby the loose'material may be gathered and transportedto a point of loading, as for linstancein theentry 26 having tracks 27, 27., for mine cars. 28 is provided, having a pair of ydrums 29 and 95 30, operatively. connected respectively with j the head and tail ropes of the scraper. shown herein, the hoistv is arranged in the env. try 26 although it may-be'placed in any'desirable lmanner. It will beseen that the .peculiar shape of thescraper is particularly advantageous underthese conditions, the short- 'er wall portion 11 being arranged facing the working'fa'ce withits front margin 31 forming the cutting edgeto enter theloose` ma terial. The longer [wall portion lOhas a tendency reason ofthe continuons curved portion 16 Asuitab-le hoist V As i tobe maintained in a positionjapproximately parallel with the working face j while, the scraperis in Operation and by laterally into, COl/flC therewith, duringthe' The 1 pivotedl-po'rtions loading i erati nare automatically opened during the forward movement by contact with thelooselinaterial.

The arrangement of the tail rope connection l' also tends to-op'en-the scraper-whileit isl being drawn rearwardly, although'as before pointedout, the scraper *is readily collapsible'when obstructionsare encountered, and

especially when it is necessary* to pass 'f through relatively Yrestricted places, for eX- ample after anew portion has been dislodged from the worlingface so as to leave avery restricted passage between the newlyset mine props and thel pile of loose material. l

"Although'I have shown and described one form in which my linvention-'may be embodied, it"'will'vr be understood-that the arrangement andconstruction of the'vario'us partsmay bel altered without departing from 1 the spirit or scope thereof.` Y I do'not wish to be understood,V therefore, as limiting myself to ,c the particular construction illustrated l crein, excepting asflimited 'in the accompanying claims. i y f f I claim vas my invention:V i

l. In a scraper device yof the class dievscribed, the combination of two wall portions of unequal'lengtlnniovablerelative to each other, means `limiting the relative movement of said wall po-rtions, and a draft rope vconnected directly to theforward end of one of said wall portions.

.2.' In awscrap'er device ofy the class olescribed, the combination of two wall portions Y of unequal length, movable relativeV toV each other, means limiting the relative movement 3. In a-scraper of the class,v described, 'the combination of two wall portions fof diifer-A vent lengthsypivotally connected at adjacent ends, means limiting the pivotal movement. of vsaid'wall portions in each direction, and ay draft rope connected to the forward end of the longer of said portions, said forward end lbeingv oiset inwardly substantially Yl-n alignnientA with the point of of said wallportions Y f y 4. In a 'scraper device of the class des scribed, the combination of two wall portions of `unequal length, movable relativevto each other, means limiting the relative movement of said wall portions, a draft rope connected directly to theforward end of said wall portions,l and anotherdraft rope connected with the shorter wall portion. y 1

'5; In a scraper of the class described, the combination of two wall portions of different lengths pivotally connected 'at vadjacent ends, means limiting the pivotal movement of said wall portions'in each direction, and a draft rope connected to the forward end of the longer of said portions, Said forward 'end being olfset substantially inalign-V vnient with the point of pivotal connection of said wallportions, and a tail rope connected to the shorter ofsaid wall portions adjacent the pivotal connection thereof. L

Signed at Chicago, in the county of Cook pivotal connection and State of Illinois, this 16th day of April, 

